1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for providing video program material to subscribers, and in particular to a method and system for providing program guides with increased capacity to accommodate descriptions of local channel content.
2. Description of the Related Art
Television programs are distributed to viewers by a variety of broadcasting methods. These methods include traditional analog broadcast television (National Television Systems Committee or “NTSC” standard), the upcoming digital broadcast television (Advanced Television Systems Committee or “ATSC” standard), cable television (both analog and digital), satellite broadcasting (both analog and digital), as well as other methods. These methods allow channels of television content to be multiplexed and transmitted over a common transmission medium.
In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for video distribution systems to provide more program channels. In digital satellite systems, this may be accomplished in many ways. One way of increasing the number of available channels is to increase the compression or decrease the error correction provided in the broadcast signal of existing satellites. Another way of increasing the number of available channels is to increase the bandwidth of the downlink from the satellite to the subscribers' receivers. Unfortunately, this technique is difficult to accomplish with existing (legacy) satellites and in a way that is compatible with existing (legacy) receivers.
As a result, video distribution systems have evolved to include additional satellites to broadcast additional program material to subscribers. Typically, satellites broadcasting these enhanced services are deployed in geosynchronous orbits in orbital locations proximate to those of the legacy satellites. This allows a single antenna to receive signals from both satellites with little or no physical scanning.
Electronic program guides for television programming are known in the art. Such program guides typically include a viewer channel number that identifies the stream of television content offered by a content provider and a description of each media program associated with the channel number. Program guide information is typically transmitted along with the television content, and typically also includes schedule information for display on users' televisions. The schedule information informs users what television programs are currently on, and what television programs will be shown in the near future.
Until recently, satellite-based video distribution systems were prohibited by regulation from transmitting local programs to subscribers within areas where those local programs were locally available by conventional broadcast means. For example, one of the network affiliates for the American Broadcasting Company in Los Angeles is KABC. These regulations prohibited satellite-based video distribution systems from re-transmitting the KABC broadcast to subscribers in the same market area serviced by the regional broadcast affiliate, KABC. These limitations, however, were eliminated by Congress through the Satellite Home Viewing Improvement Act (SHIVA). Satellite-based video distribution systems can now transmit such “local content” to subscribers within the market areas serviced by the original broadcast provider.
While this capability enhances the desirability of a satellite-based video distribution system, it raises a number of difficulties. First, there are a large number of local market areas, each with a large number of channels. In Los Angeles, for example, there are seven local content providers broadcasting on very high frequencies (VHF) and more than a dozen local content providers broadcasting on ultra high frequencies (UHF). Providing local content to subscribers in all market areas places large demands on transmission bandwidth. The transmission of program guide information describing the local content is also problematic. To serve dozens of local market areas, each with many channels, program guide information for literally hundreds of local content programs would be required. Each subscriber's receiver could be overwhelmed with information about channels that it cannot or should not receive.
Further, there are literally millions of satellite broadcast receivers in service. While it is possible to present local program guide information by updating or replacing these satellite broadcast receivers, this cannot be accomplished without incurring substantial (and prohibitive) costs.
What is needed is a method and apparatus for providing local program guide information to media subscribers in designated areas. It is also necessary that the method and apparatus be compatible with existing satellite broadcast receivers. The present invention satisfies that need.